It was cold despite her thickening coat's best efforts. The wind didn't make it any easier on the tiny figure as she trudged through snow that seemed to be spitefully trying to climb to heights well above her head. Yeah, that was just Maple's luck. Maybe she outta go south for the winter like a bird, buut for right now she was still getting used to these lands and didn't feel too keen on going super far at least until she got a better sense of where she even was.  The land was open and seemingly endless here, heck, would she ever get out of the elements at this rate? Probably not. Great, Maple was gunna be frozen Maple pretty quick here. Shivering a bit, the pale woman huffed, sending a cloud of wispy steam drifting upwards past her scowling face. Frosty blades of grass stuck to her belly, because everything stuck to Maple, no matter what she did her fur was a real irritant. Grumbling and continuing her solitary march through the snow, the grumpy little woman noticed it was beginning to snow. Heavily. Screw everything and everyone, this was stupid! Actions. "Speak" "Think."

The fire is coming so I think we should run, run, run, run

Argenti raced across the frozen landscape as snow began to fall rapidly in great flakes. Oh rats! Her magpie, Jae, flew overhead, directing her where to go.  She'd been out trying to work on her healing studies but as luck would have it she'd gotten turned around and only the expert direction of the magpie had managed to get her back on track.  Now it was snowing!  She'd hoped that they were far enough into the arid terrain of the west that they could avoid the harshness of winter but she was wrong.

Panting Argenti came to a stop, mist pouring out her mouth as her lungs gulped in freezing air.  Jae flew down to land in front of her.  "Argenti, why have you stopped?  We must keep going.  If this turns into a blizzard…." The bird didn't finish her sentence but Argenti didn't need her to. She knew what it meant. Picking herself back up she continued on until she spied a small, fluffy woman.  Quickly she ducked down, trying to determine if the woman was a threat.  She was smaller than most adults and her fluffy coat didn't make her seem that scary but the girl wasn't sure.  Had she ducked down in time, would she be seen?  Jae flew down to land near her again.  "Argenti, come on!"  

"No," she hissed, "be quiet, you're giving us away!"

At first she'd only thought jokingly of the snow getting to be as thick as she was tall, but as it kept coming down in thick curtains she actually began to consider the idea that it could actually happen. She could be trapped out here in the cold. Brown eyes looking around frantically, Maple tried to see where the shortest path to cover might be, but with the way it was snowing it was getting harder and harder to see very far anymore. The longer that she walked, the higher her steps had to be. When she'd first set off this morning she'd had no trouble padding over the frosty ground, but now she had to lift her little legs high to move comfortably. Taking a short break , Maple sat, shivering, and looked around. Lost in the middle of an open field when it was snowing... How dumb could she be? Head lowering, she shook a bit harder as despair began to sink in. The little woman was almost about to start sniffling when she thought she heard someone nearby. Perking up,little rounded ears swiveled in all directions trying to catch the source as she got to her paws and looked all around. Seeing nothing, Maple called out a gentle, "Hello?" Actions. "Speak" "Think."

The fire is coming so I think we should run, run, run, run

Argenti remained ducked down in the snow as Jae pressed in beside her. Her little black ears were flush against her head as she peeked out over the snowy plain with wide silver eyes. The woman looked around but didn't seem to notice her. Ok… now how was she going to get past the fluffy little woman? Jae took off into the sky and Argenti decided that she probably didn't really need to hide. This stranger didn't seem that scary for one and maybe, just maybe she'd be able to help.

"Uhhh… hi." She popped up out of the snow, shaking the newly fallen flakes from her coat as she toddled over toward the woman. "Can you help me? I think I'm lost." She looked up at the woman with a pout and watering eyes.

Her ears began to lay flat as she thought maybe she'd been wrong about someone else being here, which would lead her to think she'd die out here all alone in the snow. Her dismal line of thought was brought to an abrupt halt when a dark little child seemed to almost sprout up from the snow. Watching the tiny creature suspiciously at first, Maple remained tense for a bit as seemed to be her go to reaction to all new things. But once the little one asked for help, in the saddest and most heart-achingly cute way possible, Maple was putty in her paws. High-stepping closer, Maple offered a warm and gentle smile. "Unfortunately, that makes two of us," she sighed, stopping a respectful distance away in case the kid wasn't too fond of closeness. What was someone so small doing out here alone? Did she have parents? If she did, wouldn't she have mentioned them first, though? Maple knew she would have been crying for her own folks if she'd gotten lost in what was almost a blizzard when she was little. The most pressing issue was getting them both to shelter, the issue of where the kid came from could wait. Scanning all around, Maple thought she could make out the faintest hint of different terrain to the east. That was all the direction she needed; if she just walked a straight line they'd end up somewhere different eventually, right? "Would you like to walk with me? It might be easier for you to walk through my footprints. Or I could carry you, but only if you want." Maple wasn't just gunna grab some kid and carry her off, after all. Of course, if the poor thing looked any more chilled or tired Maple might change her mind on that issue. Ultimately, she just hoped it would stop snowing so much. Or that they found refuge before it got worse... Actions. "Speak" "Think."

The fire is coming so I think we should run, run, run, run

Argenti continued to stare up at the woman's face as she smiled and stepped closer toward the pup. The answer she gave however was disappointing to say the least. The woman was also lost. Rats! Argenti looked to Jae but realized the bird was no longer beside her but up in the sky. Perhaps she was getting a bird's eye view? Argenti sure hoped the bird would find something recognizable for the weather seemed to be growing worse by the section.

The stranger spoke again and Argenti replied. "Ok, I'll walk through your footprints." That would help a little at least. She wouldn't have to burn as much energy. Having the stranger carry her would be even better in terms of warmth and energy conservation but she just wasn't ready for that. Argenti could be fussy about strangers. "Do you have any food by chance? My name is Argenti by the way and that's my bird, Jae. Hey Jae! Do you see anything useful?" The magpie fluttered down to land next to her, shaking her shiny black head. "The storm's gotten bad. I will need to fly further from you to find out the way back to the others. Let me see if I can find a temporary shelter."

The bird took off into the air and Argenti turned to the stranger with a grin. "Isn't my bird useful? You should get a bird!"

Maple nodded when the child opted to walk in her prints rather than be carried. While Maple hadn't been that independent when she was little, she could understand it and the girl's need to do things on her own. "Sounds good to me! But if you start to resemble a block of ice I'll ask you again," the woman joked with a wry grin. The image of a pup with her head and limbs sticking out of an ice block was darkly amusing. Not normally her cup of tea, but Maple did funny things under stress. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't. I could get us some after it stops snowing, but until then I'm afraid we'll both be hungry a while." She felt bad for not having anything to offer the little one, but she was also quite small and therefore had less ability to haul crap around when compared to a more average sized wolf. Ah, the many, many downsides to her height. They were seemingly endless. "It's nice to meet you, Argenti. And you as well Jae." She smiled sweetly at the pair a moment before remembering to add, "My name's Maple." The woman listened as the bird spoke, watching her fly off to begin the search. At this point the pale  little woman would have started walking, but there was no sense in picking a direction just yet when she didn't know where to go. Maple would just have to wait for the bird. Returning her attention to Argenti, Maple eyed her a moment before replying slowly, "She does seem very nice, and quite helpful. I suppose I might enjoy befriending a bird, given the opportunity." Maple tried to smile again, but it was weak. The word choice Argenti used didn't quite sit well with her for some reason. Maple didn't have a lot of experience with wolves bonding with other animals, but still the idea of the child referring to the bird like a possession felt off. Oh well, maybe it wasn't intentional anyways. Actions. "Speak" "Think."

The fire is coming so I think we should run, run, run, run

Argenti giggled as she bounded through the snow. She'd make sure to keep moving so she didn't freeze into a block of ice. The storm suddenly seemed a bit less bad now that she had someone who could help her out in a bad situation. Not that Jae couldn't but there was only so much the bird could do. The woman didn't have any food on her which was a shame but at the offer of a meal after it stopped snowing made Argenti's eyes light up. Score! "Oh, yes please! I'd like that." This would totally be worth it if she could get a hot meal out of the deal. The woman introduced herself as Maple and Argenti continued to grin as she complimented Jae. Yes, birds were nifty!

She bounded from footprint to footprint as she continued after Maple. "So where are you from Maple? Where are you going? How come you came out here?"

The kid was cute, Maple’d give her that. Her excitement at the offer of food was endearing and Maple wondered when the last time she had a decent one was. Hopefully the snow went away soon, both so she could get some good food for the child and so Maple didn’t end up freezing herself. She didn’t exactly have much more going for her as far as size of fur thickness went compared to the kid. Sad, but nothing she could do about it except find shelter. ”Alright, it’s a plan then. A place to warm up, and then next on the agenda will be food as soon as possible!” At least Maple had some sense of purpose now that she had this kid following her. Motivation to not freeze solid was good, right?

Smirking and lifting an orange-tan brow at the curious little girl, Maple chuckled at the kid’s exuberance and replied easily, ”I grew up not too far away from here, on an island with my parents. When I got old enough to go exploring on my own and fend for myself I decided I’d go on some adventures I guess, but I’m not really sure where I want to go. There are lots of lands to explore, and a lot of ground to cover if you wanna explore very many of them.” Shivering slightly, and thinking she saw a dark spot up ahead Maple hoped with everything she had it was some kind of random den or something. Even if it was the burrow of a smaller animal, Maple was small enough she figured she could dig it out enough for her and a pup to fit in temporarily.

Laughing a little, Maple sighed, ”I didn’t really mean to be out here in a storm, it just kind of happened. I was hoping to cross this land but then the clouds rolled in and the snow got to heavy I couldn’t see where I was going anymore.” the different colored portion of ground was still kind of far away. It might take a little bit to get there.